Since the 1950's numerous hominoid fossils have been discovered in the Yunnan Province, southern China, from several late Miocene-early Pliocene localities. These fossil specimens occur together with small prosimian fossils, and can be divided into two groups by the overall size.
The larger specimens have formerly been classified into two taxa: a larger species, “
Sivapithecus yunnanensis”, and a smaller one, “
Ramapithecus lufengensis”. At present, however, they are generally regarded as a single taxon,
Lufengpithecus lufengensis, which shows a remarkable sexual dimorphism. In spite of the abundant fossil materials, the phylogenetic position of
Lufengpithecus is still obscure. Some researchers regard it to be a close relative of
Sivapithecus from the middle Miocene Siwalik sediments in India and Pakistan, while others suggest more affinities to European dryopithecids denying a close relationship between
Lufengpithecus and
Sivapithecus. Therefore, the hypothetical relationship between
Sivapithecus, Lufengpithecus, and extant
Pongo need to be reconsidered.
On the other hand, smaller specimens are identified as a single species,
Laccopithecus robustus, which has been regarded as an ancestral group of living gibbons. Recently many researchers, however, advocate that
Laccopithecus is closely related to European pliopithecids but not to extant hylobatids.
Thus, the phylogenetic positions of Yunnan hominoid fossils are now in debate. The evolutionary process of eastern Asian hominoids should be reconstructed considering a possible phyletic relationship with European hominoid species.
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